THE TRUE JIHAD

~ 11 ~ life, and the prevention of any obstacle coming in the way of fulfilling God’s will—for instance, the desires of the self, the urge to serve one’s own interests, the compulsion of social traditions, the need for compromises, ego problems, greed for wealth, etc. All these things directly thwart righteous actions. Overcoming all such hurdles and persevering in obeying God’s commands are the real jihad. And the word jihad has been used primarily in this sense. We quote here some traditions, as recorded in Musnad Ahmad, which define the role of the mujahid. 1. A mujahid is one who struggles with himself for the sake of God. (6/20) 2. A mujahid is one who exerts himself for the cause of God (6/22) 3. A mujahid is one who struggles with his self in submission to the will of God. The present world is a testing ground: the entire fabric of this world has been designed with a view to fulfilling the purposes of the divine trial of man. This being so, the human being is necessarily faced